


The Pure and Simple Truth

by notmyyacht



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mr. Robot (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Afterlife, Alcohol, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Crossover Pairings, Drug Use, Elliot is a mess, Fluff and Angst, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Loki is a mess, M/M, Neighbors, Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Season/Series 01, at the least, but no specific time frame for mr. robot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 20:36:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18880783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmyyacht/pseuds/notmyyacht
Summary: Elliot has a new neighbor who is more than what he seems.





	The Pure and Simple Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Me being me, of course I inevitably arrived at a ship like this, but I'm still surprised I actually wrote it lol. This is my first time writing for Elliot, so I hope I did alright. I don't think I could do that character justice even if this wasn't a crossover fic but I tried my best!
> 
> I really have no explanation as to why, I just like the idea. My only excuse is that I wrote this SUPER late at night. Completely unbeta'd, so any mistakes are on me. Hope you like it!! =D

_Gods and monsters. It’s all real. Who knew?_

For some reason, Elliot wasn’t at all surprised as he stared across the room at the ‘god’ before him. Even so, it was even less surprising that the man who’d moved into Shayla’s old apartment was one.

The idea of someone else moving in there felt… wrong. Like, it was sacred. Until he met Luke – Loki – for the first time.

With a sharp tongue and an irresistible charm, it was hard not to think ‘Luke’ was a likable, if not insufferable, asshole. He had needed help setting up his internet. Looking back, it was obvious why, but at the time the word ‘idiot’ was added to the list of words Elliot was mentally describing his new neighbor as.

As soon as the technical part was set up, however, ‘Luke’ took to his desktop like he was a pro.

The moment Elliot had closed the door to his own apartment, he made a beeline for his own computer.

But there was no Luke Gold. No social media, no internet presence.

Maybe Elliot could scratch ‘idiot’ off his list after all.

It was only the next day when Elliot needed to leave Flipper alone for a significant length of time, but the neighbor who usually watched over her had gone away for the weekend. He stopped knocking as this information returned to him. Elliot frowned and stood there awkwardly.

Then came the sound of a door opening on his left and there he was, the mysterious Luke Gold.

“I can look after her, if you like,” he had said and while Elliot needed to go, he was hesitant about leaving his dog with a stranger.

But he _really_ had shit he needed to get done that day and Mr. Robot was impatiently tapping his foot out of the corner of his eye.

Upon his return, ‘Luke’ informed him that he had taken Flipper for a walk and had spent most of the afternoon playing fetch with her in his mostly empty apartment. Flipper, for her part, seemed to really like ‘Luke.’

It didn’t end there.

One favor of pet sitting Flipper became borrowing twenty bucks for cheap corner store food until ‘Luke’ could properly afford groceries.

“I’m new to living in the city,” he once explained.

“Good luck,” Elliot had blandly replied, not sure what else to say. On the face of it, someone like ‘Luke’ wouldn’t survive very long in New York City. Someone with mannerisms and speech patterns associated with those obviously brought up in privilege and unlimited access to parents’ credit cards. Not that he ever talked about his family; in fact, ‘Luke’ seemed to intentionally avoid it.

He wanted to resent ‘Luke’ for it, but he never quite could. ‘Luke’ was intelligent and interesting. Despite what his upbringing could have been, it didn’t make him unpleasant or the pretentious snob Elliot had expected.

But then borrowing money (and repaying back in a timely manner) became quick, slightly awkward chats in doorways. Awkward chats became less awkward. Quick, less awkward chats turned into deep conversations and “Would you like to come inside?”

Elliot wasn’t sure what possessed him to offer ‘Luke’ to smoke weed and watch a movie with him. Elliot also wasn’t sure if ‘Luke’ had a high tolerance or if he, himself, was too stoned to notice how it was affecting his new friend. Which it didn’t seem like it did much.

_Friend._

It felt good to have a new friend. A friend who had no ties to fsociety or Evil Corp or his childhood.

‘Luke’ was, however, a complete and utter mystery. That was new too… and terrifying. Elliot had no idea who this man was. He didn’t even know what ‘Luke’ did for a living. He was sure he had told him before, but Elliot didn’t remember.

And yet that’s what made their friendship exciting.

There were no hidden agendas, nothing fishy. He figured if Whiterose had sent a spy, it wouldn’t be some upper crust loner looking for an “average” life. That’s what ‘Luke’ had told him anyway. Something new in his own life. Rich boy looking to live a life without the privilege.

It was almost laughable, but ‘Luke’ was such content company, Elliot could look past the person ‘Luke’ was running from and see the man ‘Luke’ wanted to be. Elliot could be friends with that man without the baggage of paranoia, without the means to dig into who this man was and figure how he was going to fuck up Elliot’s life. There was nothing there to hack. Not knowing who ‘Luke’ was was somehow… freeing.

He wanted to know, but not knowing made it interesting. What could possibly make ‘Luke’ so fascinating as a person in a unique way Elliot could never find on a profile page?

Then one night Elliot was awakened by a loud noise from next door. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he knew he heard it. He didn’t question why he jumped out of bed so fast.

 _Did you hear that?_ He had asked. _I heard it. Why do I have a bad fucking feeling…?_

‘Luke’s door was cracked open. Elliot quickly examined it and was relieved that it wasn’t splintered or damaged. He rushed in and immediately found ‘Luke’ standing in front of a wall, swaying slightly in place.

Elliot’s gaze turned to what exactly ‘Luke’ was staring at. The smooth, dirty wall looked as it had last time Elliot had come inside, except now there was a massive hole in it. Elliot stepped closer and peered through. There was a clear view to the inside of the bathroom.

“Oops,” ‘Luke’ stated, not sounding particularly concerned. He reeked of alcohol and now that Elliot had satisfied himself with the source of the loud noise, he finally glanced around.

The apartment floor was littered with dozens of bottles of wine, vodka, and three various types of whiskey. All empty.

‘Luke’ turned with a half-smile.

“Fucking hate this place, Elliot,” he said. “Not you. You I kinda like.  But this place…” he pointed at the floor as if that clarified his meaning, “…this place is shit.”

“You’re drunk,” Elliot stated.

“Yeah, and you know how much I had to drink in order to get drunk on this fucking planet?” ‘Luke’ gestured at the mess, then mumbled, “Fucking mortals’ weak booze…”

“Are… are you okay?”

Tears of anger and frustration and drunkenness filled ‘Luke’s eyes.

“No. I’m fucking dead. This place in hell.” He looked at Elliot a moment. “Don’t know why you’re here.”

“We’re not dead,” Elliot replied.

‘Luke’ didn’t say another word as Elliot got him a glass of water.

He wasn’t sure why his new neighbor would do this – or, quite frankly, _how_ without wrecking his liver – but he had a good idea.

_Loneliness. Luke is good at hiding it, but I recognized it during the second conversation I ever had with him. Maybe that’s why he intrigues me. Because I understand that loneliness._

“You should get some sleep,” said Elliot, turning to go. A hand reached out and grasped at his tee.

“Wait,” ‘Luke’ said softly. “Oh…” He immediately released Elliot’s shirt. “Sorry.”

Elliot had told him early on that he didn’t like to be touched. How strange that ‘Luke’s touch just now didn’t bother him much.

“Come on,” Elliot instructed, leading ‘Luke’ into the bathroom.

The hole looked a lot worse on this end, but ‘Luke’ still didn’t seem to care.

_He might in the morning._

Elliot sat him down on the toilet seat lid. He found a fresh wash cloth and dampened it under the faucet.

“Do you have a first aid kit?” he asked.

‘Luke’ shook his head, then squeezed his eyes shut, like the motion had made him dizzy.

Elliot picked up ‘Luke’s right hand and began cleaning his bloody knuckles. His gaze flickered from the hole in the wall then back to the hand in his.

For such a scene of destruction, it barely left any scrapes. Just enough to break the skin.

As if reading his mind, ‘Luke’ spoke, his voice still soft.

“The wall wasn’t the only victim of my misery tonight.”

Elliot paused his administrations.

A sly smile sneaked onto ‘Luke’s face.

“No, it wasn’t any person. Just another, harder wall. And a car.”

_It’s hard to tell if he’s joking about any of this. His pain, though. That’s real._

“Why did you say you’re dead?” Elliot asked.

“Because I am. A giant purple raisin squeezed the life out of me. Next thing I know I’m in some alternate reality where I don’t exist, where my brother or his friends don’t exist, and where the bastard who killed me doesn’t exist. Considering the mundane earth life I now have to live, I’m guessing I didn’t make it into Valhalla… Not that I expected to…”

Elliot glanced down at ‘Luke’s hand and his jaw dropped.

‘Luke’s hand was already almost healed.

They fell into a brief silence after that before the death talk started again. ‘Luke’s drunken ramblings were bleak, and they made him emotional. At one point Elliot was worried he might punch another wall, but ‘Luke’ made no motion to do so.

Elliot left him that night comfortably tucked into bed. And while he now had more questions than answers, it also left him with new knowledge that changed things. He and ‘Luke’ had more in common than he initially thought.

Things seemed to return to normal after that. ‘Luke’ never again spoke of his death. Elliot began appreciating his presence more, to the point spending time with ‘Luke’ became the best cure for any negative emotion he could possibly be feeling.

‘Luke’ was like morphine, but instead of feeling numb, he felt more positive emotions that seemed to drown the negative ones out. Even if only for a little while.

Mr. Robot only ever spoke to Elliot about ‘Luke’ once.

“There’s something about that guy that rubs me the wrong way,” he had said. “The fact he’s got you wrapped around your finger like that Shayla girl did isn’t helping. We need to focus…”

_Like Shayla._

Krista suggested that there was a connection there only because ‘Luke’ was living in Shayla’s apartment.

But this was different than Shayla. Shayla he knew, he understood. And while he did have feelings for Shayla, what he was feeling for ‘Luke’ had become stronger, something he couldn’t ignore.

Admitting he did have feelings for ‘Luke’ came surprisingly easy and Elliot could pinpoint exactly when fascination and platonic friendship switched into something else for him.

It was just a look and a smile and that was it.

Elliot had been showing ‘Luke’ his small book collection. He didn’t particularly like books, but ‘Luke’ did and was intrigued on what Elliot kept on his shelves. Slim fingers ran down the spine of a book of poetry Angela had gotten him for Christmas one year. Why she thought he would like it, Elliot would never know.

But it certainly piqued ‘Luke’s interest as he removed it from the shelf and opened it to a random page. He hummed in approval, his blue-green eyes scanning the words.

Then there it was. The small, most genuine smile Elliot had ever seen on him. In that briefest of moments, he saw him, the real ‘Luke.’ The one that was kept hidden from the world.

And then ‘Luke’ looked up, that smile still there, a spark of something in his eyes that Elliot couldn’t describe.

That’s when Elliot knew.

_Shit._

It would be a couple weeks before ‘Luke’ knocked on his door in the middle of the night. Only just the night before had he taken Elliot for dinner.

It hadn’t felt like a date, it just felt like Elliot was spending time with his friend. But there had been a movie, then dinner at a place Elliot wouldn’t normally go to even if he could afford it –somehow being there with ‘Luke’ made it worth it. It was most definitely a date.

Elliot was sure ‘Luke’ would kiss him. But he sucked at this sort of thing and began to worry that he had been reading far too much into things. ‘Luke’ said a lot with his eyes, social cues Elliot has having a hard time picking up on. He began to wonder if ‘Luke’ knew this and was doing it on purpose just because he didn’t want Elliot to actually know _what_ he was thinking.

Maybe Elliot was imagining things.

“How did your date go last night?” Krista asked, because of course she knew. Elliot didn’t even have to say it out loud. He never knew he could be so obvious.

“Good,” he had replied.

The conversation ended there. Krista tried to bring it up again, but Elliot didn’t want to talk about it. It had gone well, but now ‘Luke’ wasn’t replying to Elliot’s texts. He should have probably told Krista that it was bothering him.

He didn’t have to wait long to finally be told why.

Only eight hours later did Elliot hear the knocking on his door. Elliot opened it and his stomach fluttered. ‘Luke’ was dressed in the green hoodie Elliot had bought him in return for buying him lunch a week ago. It was a cheap thing, but the color looked really good on him.

“I have to speak with you,” he began.

Elliot let him in.

And so, ‘Luke’ was now Loki. The god of mischief. What he had told Elliot about dying was true. _Loki_ was able to lift the couch completely off the floor in one hand without so much as breaking a sweat. Alright, Elliot was convinced. Loki told him that his magic was gone though. He explained how frustrating it was.

Elliot didn’t believe in gods or aliens, but he believed Loki.

“Why are you telling me this now?” Elliot asked when the story was finished.

Loki took a step forward.

“Because my friendship with you. I know there are things you keep from me and there are still things I haven’t told you. I would very much like to continue to get to know you. In order to do that, I wanted to come clean about this. Also, while lies are my specialty, lying about being mortal is exhausting,” Loki ended with a roll of his eyes.

_Charming._

Elliot stepped forward and pushed himself up on his toes, lips barely grazing each other when Loki abruptly pulled back, his eyes wild.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

“What are you doing?”

_He can probably kill me in seconds. What the fuck was I thinking?_

“I… I…”

Something crossed Loki’s features; he relaxed.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

Elliot swallowed thickly and nodded.

“Yeah. I wanna get to know you more too.”

There it was again. That small smile with the glittering spark in his eyes. As Loki bent down to met Elliot’s lips halfway, a word finally came to mind to describe it.

_Mischievous._


End file.
